Saturday, September 10, 2011

(NaturalNews) Do you know anyone still drinking Gatorade or other popular sports drinks? If so, you may want to turn them on to Rooibos, an amazing thirst quencher (and a potent source of health protective flavonoids) made by Mother Nature.

Gatorade, Powerade and other sports drinks are made with liquid sugars (glucose and fructose), artificial coloring chemicals (like red #40), citric acid and emulsifiers such as brominated vegetable oil. Anyone who knows anything about nutrition quickly realizes these are not healthful, wholesome ingredients.

I've also released a popular video about Vitamin Water, exposing the truth that even Coca-Cola's own attorneys admit the drink isn't a "healthy" beverage:
www.FoodInvestigations.com

Rooibos, on the other hand, is made by Mother Nature. It's the powdered extract of the Aspalatus linearis plant which grows prolifically in South Africa. Remarkably, it's a completely caffeine-free plant that nevertheless tastes like an amazing tea beverage or even a sports drink, simply by adding it to water and mixing in your favorite sweetener such as stevia. Rooibos, by the way, synergizes extremely well with stevia. Even if you don't normally like stevia, when mixed with Rooibos the flavor of the combination suddenly makes stevia far more delicious, and I've had many people rave about this simple combination (rooibos + water + stevia).

Loaded with health-supportive phytonutrients
In addition to the fact that Rooibos contains no caffeine, it's loaded with phytonutrients such as Aspalathin, Quercetin and Luteolin. It also contains Orientin, Isoorientin, Vitexin, Isovitexin, Chrysoeriol, Catechin, Isoqurecetin, Hyperoside and Rutin. (You can look these up to see their supportive health benefits.)

No doubt some combination of these plant-based nutrients (none of which are found in Gatorade or Powerade, by the way) explains why Rooibos is such a powerful thirst quencher. I drank it almost every day throughout the Texas drought we've had over the past few months, and I discovered this drink keeps you hydrated in a way that plain water simply doesn't. No wonder so many professional football teams and sports enthusiasts are also discovering Rooibos to be a powerful, performance-enhancing sports drink.

Click here to see Rooibos on sale at the NaturalNews Store

Getting the good stuff
Watch out for Rooibos that's cut with fillers such as maltodextrin or lecithin. Ideally, you want to get pure Rooibos with no fillers, additives or sweeteners of any kind.

Another huge issue of concern is radiation -- much of the Rooibos brought into the United States is irradiated by the FDA. So getting a supply that isn't irradiated is very, very tricky -- it has even been challenging for our own supplier who recently had to reject a large batch because he tested it and found evidence that it had been irradiated. So he had to order the same batch over again, which fortunately arrived in a non-irradiated state. (Most companies don't even bother to check if their ingredient are irradiated, by the way. Only the most quality-conscious companies even pay attention to this.)

No caffeine, no chemicals
Rooibos powdered extract is made from the leaves and twigs of the Rooibos plant, which is grown entirely without pesticides or synthetic chemicals of any kind. It only takes a tiny amount of Rooibos powder mixed with water to make a deep red "tea-like" beverage that quenches thirst like nothing else. You can also mix it with any kind of milk (almond milk, cow's milk, rice milk, etc.), add a touch of sweetener, and you've got a delicious milk tea beverage that's super smooth.

This is a rare, exquisite herbal extract with a unique nutritional profile that just isn't found in any other herb or superfood. Because its potent flavonoids are so important to protect, it's packed in Miron Swiss Violet Glass which protects it from UV light. Absolutely no chemicals are used to create this extract: No solvents, nothing. In addition, nothing is added to this product. There are no fillers. It is 100% Rooibos powdered extract and nothing else, period.